Delhi High Court's Firm Stance on Women's Safety in Public Spaces

The Delhi High Court emphasized the necessity of creating harassment-free public spaces for genuine women's empowerment. Upholding a conviction for sexual harassment on a bus, the court highlighted the role of public intervention in ensuring justice and the need for strict action to deter future offenders.

The Delhi High Court has underscored the urgency of making public spaces safe for women, ruling that discussions on women's empowerment are futile without a harassment-free environment. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma highlighted that empowerment begins with the freedom to live without fear.

This remark came during a judgement on February 28, as the court upheld the conviction of a man accused of sexually harassing a female co-passenger on a bus in 2015. Both the trial court and the sessions court had previously sentenced the accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.

In declining leniency toward the accused, the court expressed concern over ongoing harassment in public spaces and praised the involvement of bystanders in the case, illustrating the significance of collective responsibility in combatting such offenses.

(With inputs from agencies.)